Archangel Lightworks, a laser communications startup, has raised over £10 million in a Series A round led by Santander Alternative Investments, with participation from National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Blackfinch Ventures, Oxford Capital, Lycka Limited, and Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE). It is accelerating the commercialisation of its deployable optical ground station, the TERRA-M.
It is building global high speed data infrastructure to connect networks in space with networks on the ground, specialising in deployable Gbps+ and future Tbps+ laser link capacity. Its TERRA-M terminal is a miniature, deployable optical ground station designed to address challenges such as the Digital Divide, quantum security, and persistent planetary monitoring by providing a high-volume, secure alternative to existing radio-based data infrastructure.
Demand for laser communications technology is increasing due to limited data rates, security concerns, and restricted access to radio spectrum. The technology is already used between satellites and supports commercial and defence applications, as well as exploration missions such as Artemis II. Orbital data centres and broadband constellations require higher bandwidth links, with optical communication networks enabling near-instantaneous processing and distribution of data.
It is an exciting moment for Archangel Lightworks to be able to announce this successful round of capital as the demand for space-based information and connectivity continues to grow exponentially. The Archangel Lightworks team has done incredible work designing, building, and deploying our laser communications systems, and now is the time for us to accelerate with our partners, new and old, to meet the needs that we are hearing from our customers across markets.
We are delighted to partner with the Archangel team and our fellow investors in this exciting and strategically important initiative relating to ground space communication infrastructure. The progress the company was able to achieve thus far was remarkable, and we look forward to working with the company in the years ahead.
